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1. Freshers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
Why you should read it: This funny adventure of a novel about a group of freshers' first term is insanely relatable, especially during your first year of uni.
Here's a helpful review: "It absolutely hits the nail on the head – it’s so true to life it’s quite frightening. Everyone who’s ever been to uni and lived on campus for a while will relate to Freshers on a whole new level. I know I’ve never read a book that’s so relatable."
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2. How to Be a Grown Up by Daisy Buchanan
Why you should read it: This book covers leaving secondary school, the uni years, and beyond. It's full of practical tips and commiserating anecdotes that will make you feel less alone in your first year of adulthood.
Here's a helpful review: "Full of chatty, thoughtful, and LOL essays on the lessons Daisy has learned in life so far, How to Be a Grown Up could also be titled: HEY IT’S NOT JUST YOU. With entries on her experiences with her mental health, body image, money management, sex, clothes, and just about all those other things you’re definitely googling hoping you got it right or just flat out pretending don’t exist, How to Be a Grown Up is an ideal primer for late teens and early twentysomethings, a really great shoulder to cry on for late twentysomethings, and a knowing look for readers who have been through it all already."
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3. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Why you should read it: This powerful lecture from a computer science professor reflects on his childhood, career, and experience as a husband and father. It's a tearjerker but incredibly inspiring for students.
Here's a helpful review: "This is a book that inspires you to the core, written by a person who has been given only 3 to 6 months to live. Battling with terminal pancreatic cancer, Randy Pausch sees even the positive side of it, which gave him time to say goodbye to family and friends and tie the loose ends, compared to a sudden death from, say, a heart attack. He gives a vivid account of pursuit of his childhood dreams, how he realised them and the story of his rise to fame. As a former professor in computer science, he provides some profound advice to youngsters applying to universities or seeking jobs. Randy has left a precious legacy not only to his kids, as he intended, but to the whole of our next generation. It's a book that will touch your heart."
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4. Open by Gemma Cairney
Why you should read it: This handy and stylish-looking book is a great companion for moving away from home and starting a new chapter in your life. With sections on everything from sexual health to career advice, it's a pep talk you can keep on your bookshelf.
Here's a helpful review: "So many useful subjects are addressed in here: body image, social media and the vanity culture, sexual health, friendship/family/relationship issues, mental health, and a whole load of straightforward, sensible tips on how to stay healthy and love yourself. Even the most 'awkward' subjects are dealt with in a sincere and (if appropriate) humorous way. Every page is written with a perfect balance of straight-up honesty and respect for the teenage/young adult reader."
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5. How Not to Be a Boy by Robert Webb
Why you should read it: Thanks to a culture of toxic masculinity, young men may find it particularly difficult to grapple with their emotional experiences of leaving home, starting life as adult, and the pressures of university life. Robert Webb's book – part memoir, part examination of societal pressures on men growing up – is a balm for those challenges.
Here's a helpful review: "I loved this book. It's so much more than a memoir. It's thoughtful and funny and sad and powerful all rolled up together. I finished it in a day. It has a great deal to say about the pressures that society put on men to toughen up, to be quiet about their problems, to live up to what men are expected to be like, and what a toxic environment that can be, not only for the men themselves but everyone around them."
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6. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Why you should read it: Fangirl follows Cather and Wren, twins starting university. The book will be a huge comfort to anyone struggling to settle in to their first term of uni. It's understanding, compassionate, and a damn good escape on top of everything else.
Here's a helpful review: "I'd recommend this to anyone wanting a feel-good read, because it made me smile so much. I'd also recommend it to anyone starting university, away from home, who is anxious and perhaps a little unprepared – this book shows that even the most inexperienced, socially awkward people can make a go of and have a good time at university."
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7. Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna
Why you should read it: YouTuber Gabbie Hanna's book of poems about the growing pains of growing up is funny and relatable, the perfect book to turn to when you just need to feel like someone gets you.
Here's a helpful review: "Adultolescence is the perfect book for anyone who needs to know that they are not alone in the world – their doubts and fears are felt by many others as well. It is the perfect book for my generation. A week into owning it and it already looks well-worn and loved because I keep going back to my already-favourite poems because I've needed a pick-me-up or some cheering up during the week."
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8. If This Isn't Nice, What Is?: Advice for the Young by Kurt Vonnegut
Why you should read it: This collection of Vonnegut's commencement speeches and other inspiration writings is a go-to gift for uni graduates, but actually has just as much to offer students who are just starting out.
Here's a helpful review: "This is a collection of speeches he's given, mostly to college graduates, and there are a few repetitions in the stories and anecdotes in here, but I still think it's utterly worth a read.
"Vonnegut is as relevant, humane, understanding, wise and witty as always. And these speeches truly made me realise exactly how keen an observer he was of the world. He just got it. He got the white privilege, racial and economic inequality, he understood the power of education, of small communities, and he understood, more than anything, how important it is to be kind and merciful."
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9. It's All in Your Head by Rae Earl
<Why you should read it: Going to uni is a big change and it's important to look after your mind in the midst of the transition. Rae Earl's book is chatty, informative, and understanding – the perfect reference for when you're not sure how to make sense of your big feelings.
Here's a helpful review: "Brilliant for someone who needs a good talking to sometimes when everything seems scary. It makes you feel less alone and there's parts everyone can relate to. A very honest and caring book."
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10. Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Why you should read it: This book of essays on racial politics is incredibly readable and makes an excellent primer for students trying to wrap their mind around concepts of intersectionality, systematic racism, and what it means to be a person of colour in in Britain today.
Here's a helpful review: "I learned so much reading this book. I am ashamed there was so much about the history of the UK I didn't know in relation to slavery and racism. I thought I was pretty switched on when it came to acknowledging how much the colour of my skin (white) unfairly meant life was easier for me and I try to always stay quiet and listen when a person of colour speaks of their experiences, as I cannot possibly understand or imagine how they feel. The only thing I have ever tried to equate it to is my experiences of sexism but as a white woman, I am still at an advantage, so it is not a level playing field. Reni's book has made me realise I have so much more to learn and want to learn and want to help change our society. I plan to buy it for as many people as I can. It also reinforced how important intersectional feminism is to me and to the world."
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11. Things to Shout Out Loud at Parties by Markus Almond
Why you should read it: Almond's book is a funny, insightful mediation on social interaction and anxiety. Anyone who's ever felt out of place at a party, had a weird date, or just sat around trying to make a little bit of sense of their life will recognise themselves in the pages.
Here's a helpful review: "Beautifully crafted. Almond makes the stuff of life, those feelings you get when the world feels powerful and you feel your place in it, come out naturally. He rarely if ever says too much, and he always leaves room for those things that can't find a way to be said. This is a remarkable work, takes no time to read. I suggest for everyone."
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12. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
Why you should read it: Find a more iconic exploration of what it means to be a woman in academia, I dare you. Solnit's titular essay is a rallying cry for women who demand to be taken seriously in their fields, and a how-not-to guide for the men they work and study beside.
Here's a helpful review: "Some of the most enlightening essays I have ever read. I bought this book a few years ago, and regularly come back to read the essays. Essential reading for men and women. Particularly in times like these."
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13. You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein
Why you should read it: Funny and true to life, Klein's coming-of-age memoir will be a security blanket for loads of uni students wondering if they'll ever get it together.
Here's a helpful review: "I LOVED this book. Jessi is both grounded and hilarious. The essays made me feel like I was reading letters from a great mate – one who'd slap you into sense with one hand while passing you wine with the other."
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14. ...And a Happy New Year? by Holly Bourne
Why you should read it: Bourne's novella brings a group of sixth-form friends back together after completing their first term at separate universities. It hits the nail on the head with the strangeness of how friendships evolve as you start to grow up, and you don't need to have read the earlier books in the series to appreciate the story here.
Here's a helpful review: "I loved this book; it was a quick read taking place on this one night but that doesn't stop it being an important read for teens and young adults since it's showing the girls after leaving school/college which is a scary and exciting time! It was so refreshing to read something that shows how not everyone loves uni, not everyone goes to uni, and how friendships do inevitably change when people move off to different places and others stay behind, but all of these things are OK!"
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15. The Opposite of Loneliness by Miranda Keegan
Why you should read it: Published after her unexpected death at 22, Keegan's collection of essays, stories, and thoughts is a raw and stunning time capsule of her late teens and college years.
Here's a helpful review: "She writes about the value of community at Yale, how valuable youth is, and how much time people have to live out their dreams and the ability they have to start over again. This is something we can all relate to as we wonder what life has in store for us when we leave somewhere, be it a place, a school, or a university. We feel we have to decide what’s next for us, but Marina is saying it’s OK not to have your house in order right away."
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16. Almost Adulting by Arden Rose
Why you should read it: Artist and vlogger Arden Rose's book is a lovely pep talk to get you through your early twenties. Relatable and all about the small victories and big heartaches of becoming an adult, it's an essential uni companion.
Here's a helpful review: "Overall a good read. It's written almost like a memoir because it is all based off of Arden's own experiences, so if you are looking for general life advice and lessons this may not be the place to look. It is, however, a nice comfort if you are going through a time in your life where things are changing and you aren't sure of your own direction, or even if you feel like you're 'stuck'. It is very relatable."
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